The Songbird occurrence is located on the eastern side of Okay Mountain, north east of Nanaimo.
The area is underlain by Paleozoic Sicker Group volcanic rocks and sediments in fault contact with Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group) andesites. Cretaceous sediments of the Nanaimo Group unconformably overlie these rocks.
In this area the Paleozoic Sicker Group is comprised of the Upper Devonian McLaughlin Ridge Formation represented by a lower phyllite unit, a dacitic to andesitic tuff unit and an upper quartz- sericite schist unit. The phyllite unit is predominantly a meta- argillite sequence which is locally cherty and becomes graphitic near faults. Overlying and interbedded with this is a pyritic dacitic to andesitic tuff sequence. Overlying both units is a quartz-sericite schist commonly containing thin bands of chert and local lenses of pyrite. In fault contact with the Sicker rocks are massive dark green andesites of the Karmutsen Formation. Local porphyritic and cherty andesite are observed. Nanaimo Group sediments consisting of fossiliferous sandstone with local conglomerate lie unconformably on Sicker rocks.
A steeply west dipping, brecciated and quartz flooded mineralized zone (Songbird Main zone or Lily zone) lies along the faulted contact between Karmutsen Formation andesite on the west and Sicker Group argillite on the east. The zone ranges from 6 to 16 metres in width and has been traced to the north- north west for some 2000 metres. A number of quartz vein and ankerite alteration zones are present along this feature within a sequence of chert- cherty argillite and felsic to intermediate volcanics.
Locally, a brecciated core zone consists of an orange-brown weathering cherty argillite which has been flooded with quartz- carbonate stringers and veinlets. Sulphide mineralization consists of pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite, sphalerite and galena. The zone has been exposed by a series of trenches that suggest a strike length in excess of 100 metres.
In 1979, the area was explored as the Okay claim by Invex Resources and a program of geochemical sampling was completed. A chip sample across the exposed 16 metre width of tuff and quartz units yielded an average of up to 6.6 grams per tonne gold and 47.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 07641).
In 1983 and 1983, Eureka Resources explored the area as the Songbird claims. Programs of geological mapping, geochemical sampling, trenching and a ground electromagnetic survey were completed. In 1988, Expeditor Resource Group completed a program of line cutting and a VLF-EM geophysical survey. In 1988, Mingold Resources completed a program of rock and soil geochemical sampling, geological mapping and a ground electromagnetic survey.
Drilling investigated approximately 200 metres of strike length and although the fault zone was found to be present, the mineralized zone is much narrower and of a lower grade than surface sampling indicates.
In 1987 through 1991, Goldbank Ventures explored the area as the Bon and Tammy claims. Programs of geological mapping, geochemical sampling and trenching were completed. Grab sample of quartz vein and breccia material yielded values up to 12,600 parts per billion gold, 113.2 parts per million silver, 0.47 per cent copper and 0.32 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21496).
In 1994, the former Songbird claims were staked as the Bon Group by B. Donovan. A program of prospecting was completed in 1997. A grab sample assayed of vein material assayed grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 25132).
In 2005 and 2006, D.J. McLelland completed programs of prospecting in the area.
